Lillis listed qualities he wants to see in a permanent president: “Great academic credentials would be number one. I think a second issue is it has to be somebody who has been involved in how a university operates.”

Jennifer Freyd wants a few more qualifications. The professor of psychology and trauma says the new president should commit to improving sexual assault policies, after student rape allegations shocked the campus this year. Also, she said, “it’d be great to get a president who can really manage the complex situation of having big-time athletics at a university that has a mission to be the flagship academic school.”

The Board of Trustees will discuss the search next month, but probably not form a search committee until later.